In certain special issues of this week’s Mercury, there’s a hidden surprise! It’s, to our knowledge, the first-ever comprehensive guide of Portland’s Northside—for Wizards. That’s right: It’s a handy guide for Portland’s North and Northeast quadrants, with tons of listings, places to eat, shops, and more—and it’s specially tailored just for wizards. Talented Mercury intern/cartoonist […]
Neighborhoods
Posted inNeighborhoods
First They Came for the Geese, And I Didn’t Honk
GOOSEWITZ. Westmoreland Park, 7:55 am today
Posted inDrunk
Club 21’s Grand Reopening
Our former neighbors Club 21—the finest dive bar in the land—has changed ownership and has been undergoing renovations at the hands of the fine folks responsible for Gold Dust Meridian. Not to worry: the Club’s homey, divey appeal will reportedly remain preserved, just spruced up a tad. (Or as their Facebook page says, “Totally the […]
Posted inNeighborhoods
Can Last Thursday Actually Be Contained?
Zervas Tomorrow night is Last Thursday on NE Alberta and this morning in City Council was full of talk about the event that’s marked by clowns, crowds, chaos and a fair amount of city cash. Since last year, the city has been paying about $10,000 a month during the summer to close off NE Alberta […]
Posted inNeighborhoods
My Safeway is Closing. So Sad, So Sad.
Week by week, the Safeway at SE 27th and Hawthorne has emptied out. When products disappear, they’re not replaced, creating a bizarre and inconvenient supermarket that no longer stocks random items such as chili powder, peppercorns, or red cabbage. They’re also selling off the least popular items one by one at discount rates. Last week, […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Pay-What-You-Can Panera in NE Portland?
panerabread.com It sounds kind of wild, but the multi-billion dollar corporate franchise Panera Bread is turning some of their restaurants into pseudo-soup kitchens. It’s an experiment and it’s never been tested by any major restaurant chain before, but customers at “Panera Cares” cafés simply pay what they can, no questions asked. Rumor has it that […]
Posted inNews
Hung Far Low Sign Will Be Re-Erected
Nearly two years ago, the Mercury received a frantic dispatch that the revered Hung Far Low sign had been removed from the Old Town/Chinatown perch from which it had delighted Portlander’s for decades. It was soon discovered, sadly, warehoused in a Scappoose derelict sign yard. Today the Portland Development Commission announced that on September 2nd […]
Posted inNeighborhoods
There’s a New Market in Town
Portland’s newest outdoor market will open next week in the Boise-Eliot neighborhood on a plot of land that’s been a vacant eyesore for years. The new Boise-Eliot market is the brainchild of stonemason Spencer Burton who ran for Dan Saltzman’s seat for Portland city council in November. Though the bid for city council flopped, Burton […]
Posted inNews
“Unsafe” Buildings in Portland: the Map
PF&R We’ve gotten a list from Portland Fire & Rescue of all the buildings that have been marked “unsafe” for firefighting personnel to enter. Here’s a handy map of all properties currently marked, or in the process of being marked, unsafe. View in a larger map Click on properties to see details. Here’s the list. […]
Posted inNeighborhoods
Plan Will Cut Two Traffic Lanes from Division
Three years from now, Division Street is going to look a lot different. City council approved a $7 million plan this morning to rebuild Division Street from 10th Ave to 39th Ave as a more pedestrian-friendly, sustainable, generally less crappy thoroughfare. About 15,000 cars travel along the stretch every day and Division needs to be […]
Posted inNews
Portland Neighborhoods Seek Nirvana through “Main Streets”
So what has “four points,” and “eight principles,” and results in a better, more harmonious life? No, silly, it’s not Buddhism—it’s the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Streets program, which announced partnerships this morning to fix up the Alberta, Hillsdale and St. Johns neighborhoods according to said noble precepts. To qualify, each neighborhood had […]
Posted inNeighborhoods
News From Above—Or How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love Burnside
Look! It is Henry’s! Something nefarious could happen here. Gone fetal worrying about the dearth of condo owning gentrification news in the wake of Matt Davis’ vacating Portland? Shaking a fist at the sky and shouting “UNJUST I SAY UNJUST” while popping lorazepams like candy? You are not alone, my friends. I, too, have been […]